Sculpture honouring Egyptian military criticised for portraying sexual harassment

'Mother of the Martyr' statue, depicting a soldier embracing a woman, will be modified after gaining people's ire

A sculpture in Egypt named, ‘Mother of the Martyr’ has stirred controversy after social media users complained that it appeared to depict an unwanted advance on a woman meant to symbolise the country.

The city of Sohag’s governor, Ayman Abdel-Monaim, ordered an investigation into the commissioning of the sculpture by the local council of the town of al Belina. “Sometimes, an artist’s vision clashes with the culture of society,” he said, adding, “If our objective is to treat citizens with respect, then we must not do anything to offend their feelings. We all respect our army and the country.”



The concrete sculpture depicts a slender peasant woman, a traditional artistic representation of Egypt, with her arms outstretched. A helmeted soldier is standing behind her, looking over her shoulder with his arms wrapped around her.

Although, sculptor of the statue Wagih Yani, rejected any suggestions of impropriety after facing backlash, he has decided to replace the soldier with an olive branch in the hands of the woman. The 60-year-old said that the white doves, which symbolise peace, will form a crescent over the woman’s head.



According to Yani, the soldier represented the “spirit of the martyr” protecting Egypt. “I remain convinced of the sculpture’s original idea and the modifications will not steer far from that," he said. “But I personally feel that it’s important to me that everyone is happy with the sculpture.”



The sculpture stands at a public square in the conservative provincial town of Sohag. While some critics on the social media claimed the 8.5m high statue portrayed sexual harassment, others interpreted it as the country’s military seducing Egypt as represented by the peasant woman. The fact that the sculpture stood close to a girls’ school fuelled opposition.

The governor said that the provincial government should have been consulted before the 250,000 Egyptian pound ($28,400) sculpture was commissioned.

This article originally appeared on The Guardian